Of Course
by Elvarya
Summary: Five years after the Labyrinth, Sarah has accepted that it was all a dream. But of course the Labyrinth won't let her go for long. Post-Labyrinth Sarah/Jareth fic. Rated T just so that I can be free to add in T content later.
1. Chapter 1

I'm not sure why I decided to write this. I hadn't seen this movie in years, then my best friend became obsessed with it, and dragged me back into it, and then she made me read a fic. I rewatched the move for the first time in years and just...felt so unfulfilled with the ending they gave to Sarah and Jareth. So, I decided to write my own ending, even if this kind of fic has been done a million times. I hope it turns out well, though most of this is just what I came up with as I went along. Also, sorry if this is really rambling. I wrote it at 1:30 last night, so I was kind of out of it. Also, I accidentally slipped into 1st person a couple times. I think I fixed all of that, but if you see any, could you tell me in the reviews? Please and thank you!

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><p>It was the owl's fault, of course. The owl that had given her away. That had let her parents on to her secret.<p>

Let them know that _something_ had changed.

It started with the owl at her window, and she supposed it was kind of poetic that that's how the next bit started, a cheap plush owl she'd bought on a whim at a convenience store hung in her window. But she knew it was more than that. Of course she knew.

Because then came the drawings. Endless drawings of owls. Different locations, different sizes, different positions and angles and styles, but always the same owl.

It was him, and she just wanted to do him justice.

Of course.

Her father and stepmother took notice, though. It wasn't that hard. She'd given away Lancelot, so they were paying attention. She'd gone and thrown away half of her childhood toys, then, only keeping a few and giving many to Toby.

When she started fixating on owls, they knew something was wrong.

Which was how she wound up in a therapist's office. Strike that, _another_ therapist's office. The fourth one, in fact. She found almost no difference between them. None were so flamboyant or unique as the King. It was as if she were desensitized to normality after the Labyrinth. After Jareth.

Mostly, she noticed the offices anymore. Each of them was different, she'd give them that. And she definitely liked this one the least. Everything was just slightly off. The chair was just slightly too awkwardly shaped to be comfortable. The temperature was just slightly too cold for her liking. Despite the clouds blanketing the sky that day, the light coming in through the wall of windows was just slightly too bright, keeping her in a partial squint at all times.

She simply focused on the table, where more than a few of her drawings were spread out. The therapist - _Mr. Davies_, she reminded herself - was going on about something. About dreams. He asked her to explain her dream.

She closed her eyes for a moment, deciding not to bother with explaining to him that _it wasn't a dream_. The reason she was in his office was because everyone thought it was a dream, though only she knew the truth. It would be the very epitome of a futile effort.

So she explained it. Told him about her wish and the Goblin King, about Hoggle and Didymus and Ludo and all of it. She left out a bit of the King's description, preferring not to go down the road of psychoanalyzing him as her ideal sexual partner _again_. It'd been bad enough the first time. And the second.

But eventually, she got the message. It started to sink in. It took a while. Oh, did it take a while. It took a year of anger and depression, losing her only friends, shouting matches with her father and stepmother over everything and anything.

But get the message, she did. It was a dream, all of it. She'd made it all up. Hoggle, Didymus, Ludo.

Jareth.

So it had been five years since the dream, and she had moved on quite well. She still thought back on it at times, and still had quite the affinity for owls, still found her hand absentmindedly doodling them at times, but for the most part, she was a normal twenty-year-old, attending university with a small group of friends, a potential boyfriend on the horizon. The whole shebang.

But of course, the Labyrinth had to show up again. Of course.

This time, she knew it was a dream. Jareth was abundantly clear about that.

It was in the remains of the Escher Room, but it looked much worse for wear. As if it had been left in rubble and ruins since she was last there, and the elements had taken over. Vines were beginning to intrude in the space, reaching towards the center where she stood. The light had an ambience to it, and a slight fogginess to it, obscuring anything outside the ring she was centered within.

And then a figure appeared. A tall, thin figure whom she recognized so well.

"Hello again, Sarah," Jareth said with the smallest of smiles.

She wanted to speak. Wanted to say something, do something, walk forward and touch him at the very least.

Instead, she froze. Every muscle in her body clenched. She stopped breathing, eyes locked on his angular features. His lips were quirked to the side in a smirk and she wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him or slap the look right off his face.

"It seems I've rendered you speechless," he chucked, taking two more steps towards her. He moved slowly, with the measured control and grace he'd possessed the last time she'd seen him.

"This is a dream," Sarah finally said, voice weaker than she'd liked.

"You dream of me?" Jareth asked, sounding almost...pleased.

She shook her head, though. "No, never. Not since I saved Toby. I've wanted to, but…"

"Then what makes you think this is a dream?" he inquired. The smirk was gone, but a single eyebrow had risen a fraction.

"Because this can't be real."

"I'm curious as to why you think the two to be mutually exclusive." He quirked the eyebrow up fully now.

"Dreams are just our mind's ways of passing the time while we sleep," she insisted. "There's nothing real about them."

"Dreams draw from reality," he replied. "Why couldn't they shape it, too?"

She almost laughed. "Because that's not how things work."

"And you're so certain about how 'things work,' are you?" He let out a laugh. "Maybe that's how 'things work' in the world of mortals, but you have run the Labyrinth, beaten it even. You are not of the mortal world any longer, Sarah."

Her brow furrowed. "What are you saying? I belong to the...the Underground?"

He chuckled at that, though it sounded slightly more troubled than before. "That's not what I'm saying at all. But you don't belong to the Aboveground either. The best way to describe it is that you are stuck in transition. But beating the Labyrinth, you removed yourself from the mortal world, at which point, you were to stay in the Underground, with me. That is the way it has worked since the beginning of time."

"_I was supposed to be your sex bunny?_" she exclaimed, eyes widening.

Jareth stared for a moment, eyes just as wide, before doubling over with laughter. "Heavens, no. I mean, that could have been part of it. But no. You were to be made into royalty. The heir to the throne, in fact. That's how the Kings of the Goblins have always been chosen.

"You beat the Labyrinth?" she asked, incredulous.

"Indeed, I did," he nodded. "But it was much easier at the time. Each Goblin King changes it, makes it their own, with the aim of making it more difficult."

"But why? Why make the Labyrinth so difficult? You don't really seem to care for the Goblins, so why take so much time and care in the selection process for the new leader?"

"Because once the new heir is found, it's only a matter of time before the sitting Goblin King is murdered," he said mournfully. "We are granted eternal life, immunity from age and sickness, though we can still be struck down by injury. The heir is selected, and then the Goblin King is murdered, usually by the heir. They...aren't granted eternal life. It's quite the enticement."

"But, I wouldn't…"

"Oh, it's not always the heirs. Sometimes it's the goblins themselves, deciding that the sitting king is too cruel, or they make pacts and agreements with the heir."

A realization struck her. "But you…"

"...killed the king before me? Yes, I did." He nodded, meeting her gaze head on. He didn't flinch away. It seemed extremely important to him that she know what he'd done, though he didn't seem particularly ashamed. "Tell me, how old do I look to you?"

"I don't know, thirty?" Where was he going with this?

"The Goblin Kings stop aging the moment they are crowned," he explained. "You guessed pretty well, just so you know. I was twenty-seven at the time. I was fifteen when I was named heir. I waited twelve years, living here without friend or enemy to keep me occupied, only the Goblins to taunt me until I...lashed out." Her eyes were slowly widening and her mouth fell open as he continued. "I'm not ashamed of what I did. It's the way of things here."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you need to understand what happened when you refused to stay," he replied, voice harder than before. "Look around you, Sarah, and tell me what's wrong here."

She did as he said, eyes drinking in every detail. "It's crumbling, aging."

"It's not just these ruins," he nodded. "All of the Underground is shattering, because you aren't here to prevent it."

"H-How am I supposed to prevent it?"

"That is the role of the Heir," he intoned. "The Heir may not have immortal life, but the Heir has other powers and responsibilities. As soon as you entered the Goblin City, you'd beaten the Labyrinth, and certain power passed to you, the power of pure creation, the power that has led and guided the Underground since it's conception. It was your job to protect that power, literally with your life, and to keep the Underground from falling into ruin. It's another reason why the Heir always kills the king, actually. The Heir must take power before their death, or the light dies with them, and the Underground, or so the legend says. The King carries it within him until a new Heir is found. You, Sarah, were supposed to remain as Heir and protect the Underground. As you can see, you've done a piss poor job of it so far."

"How was I supposed to know?" she demanded. "You never said!"

"I said enough," he waved me off. "You made your decision."

"So I'll unmake it!" she exclaim. "I'm here now, why can't I start fixing things?"

"But you aren't here," he reminded her. "This is a dream. It's also a reality, yes, but still, undoubtedly, a dream."

"What do you mean, 'a reality?'"

"Do you remember when I mentioned the transitionary period?" Sarah nodded. "That is caused by the power. If you had remained as Heir, you would have magic as strong as my own, possibly stronger." She gave him a curious look. "You're a woman. Closer to nature, and the magic of the realm. Well, that magic is still within you, though you never made the full transition. It manifests in dreams. Dreams of the present, and the future. On a rare occasion, it can even make dreams real. That'd be something, wouldn't it?" He laughed.

"So take me back to the Labyrinth!" she insisted.

He immediately sobered. "It's not that simple. You rejected the Labyrinth, rejected the Underground. I'm not sure it's even possible for you to set foot here again, even if we could get you in. I can't just magic you in like last time."

"There has to be a way!" she insisted. Her beloved Labyrinth was crumbling around her! Every moment she spent there made her want to weep even more. What had she done? The Labyrinth had long defined her, and she'd destroyed it.

"There may be one, but I'm sure you'll hate it," he informed her, shifting awkwardly and not meeting her gaze.

"Spit it out, Jareth."

"Well…" He shifted once more. "Most such laws and precepts are excepted in the cases of the King...and his concubine."


	2. Chapter 2

I meant to have more sooner, but on Friday night when I was going to write this, I looked, and I have seven things I need to write, in addition to revising nanowrimo. So, rather than spending the weekend writing, I spent the weekend reading, watching Doctor Who, and complaining about how much I need to write. And now I offer you a short chapter... I have something of an idea where this is going, so I'm gonna try to update quicker, though it means a really short update here or there, and I apologize for that. Anyways, could I possibly beg or a review or two? :)

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><p>"Concubine?" she asked, almost uncertain she'd heard the word herself, and then stifled a laugh. "So, let me get this straight. You <em>don't<em> want me to be your sex bunny. But you want me to be your _concubine_."

"It's not the same thing," he insisted.

"So, you're saying that we're not supposed to…" She trailed off suggestively.

"It is traditional, yes." Sarah began to roll her eyes. "But it isn't a requirement!"

"Then what's the difference between being your concubine and just…being in the Underground."

"It has a different meaning there," he explained. "A concubine is a person who has shared blood with the King, has become whole with him. That is what must be done."

She was still trying to get over the whole _concubine_ thing, but the part about "sharing blood" definitely caught her attention.

"What do you mean, sharing blood…?" she asked hesitantly.

"We bleed each other," he answered stiffly. "The easiest way is to simply press the wounds together and let the blood exchange freely."

"So, I have to open up a vein for you?"

"Well, I'll do it too."

She sighed. If this was the cost, how could she say no? A little blood and pain for the Labyrinth that had so captivated her?

"Fine, when?"

His eyes lit up slightly. "I'll be in the Aboveground in three day's time. I shall come to you. Be prepared for me."

With that, the Labyrinth faded and she woke with a start, back in her dorm room just as the light of morning began to creep through the window. Time to get up, she supposed. Glancing at the clock, she knew she didn't have to get up then, but she knew she wouldn't fall asleep again.

~X~

And so came the wait. It was Tuesday, and Jareth was coming on Friday. Every time she thought of it, of him, she clenched a bit, and her stomach squeezed. Honestly, she wasn't sure if it was excitement, fear, uncertainty, or some mix thereof. Mostly, she just wanted Friday to come, to let what happened happen, and get it done with. If nothing happened, if it really was just a dream, then Friday would be yet another night in, reading a book in her dorm room.

Or it could be the most important night of her life.

It was the uncertainty that killed her ever thirteen seconds. Of course it was the uncertainty.

There was a knock on her door not long after she'd gotten back from brushing her teeth and getting dressed. She set aside her book and answered the call, finding behind the door Adam, a guy she'd met and instantly connected with. There had been a bit of tension and _something_ on either side, of that she was sure, but seeing him now, goofy grin on his face as he took in the sight of her - hair messy, a bit of eyeliner smeared beneath her eye after she'd been too lazy to remove it the night before - she wasn't sure how she felt about him. If Jareth really was back - and she wasn't sure how much she would actually let herself believe he was - then what was Adam to her?

She internally groaned and cried out in frustration as she let Adam into her room, taking the bagel he offered. It was going to be a long week


	3. Chapter 3

So, this took a lot longer than I was expecting, but this chapter is also a lot longer than I was expecting. I actually wrote about 1200 words and cut off the chapter, then started on the next one, but I realized that my cuttoff point was stupid and I could easily join the two chapters, so here, I give you the gift of a chapter that's almost 2k! I'm actually liking the direction this is taking, though Jareth is being difficult and deciding differently :P Either way, I hope you like it! (Also, I fixed the typo in the summary. /is ashamed)

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><p>She ate breakfast with Adam as usual - her roommate was conspicuously missing, but that was nothing new - and he was as talkative as ever. She tried to nod and "mm-hmm" where necessary, but her mind was still on Jareth.<p>

It was the silence that alerted her to a change. "Are you okay, Sarah?" Adam asked again.

She looked up. "Hmm?"

He shrugged. "Well, you're usually much more…animated. Or you at least look me in the eye, even if you don't care what I'm going on about. You feeling okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," She replied hurriedly. "Just…didn't get much sleep last night."

"Seems like you got up pretty early, too."

"Well, if was on and off, you know?" She sighed. "Finally, I just couldn't stay there in bed, so I got up."

He stood and offered her his hand. "You need coffee," he announced. Sarah laughed a bit, partially at the way he'd said it, and partly at the comical difference between him and Jareth.

And back to Jareth again. She'd managed to forget him for about five minutes! She considered that to be quite an accomplishment, really.

"Sounds good," she agreed.

The cafe was empty aside from the barista behind the counter when they arrived. Even so, it took quite a while for them to get their orders, and Sarah was feeling even more run down by the minute.

As they sat there, the caffeine working it's magic, neither spoke much, and people slowly began to enter the cafe, or hurry past the window outside on their way to wherever it was they were going. Sarah watched them absently, but jumped suddenly.

Adam looked up with a start as she bumped the table and almost knocked over both of their drinks. "What is it?" he asked in concern.

"N-nothing," Sarah said, though she hesitated. But she'd seen him, she knew she had. He'd been passing in the crowd, but he'd glanced in, given her a wistful look, just for a moment, and then hurried on.

"You're acting very strange today, you know that?" Adam had an amused smile on his face, but his tone told her that he was serious.

"Just a weird dream," she assured him quickly.

"Want to talk about it?"

She brushed him off. "No, I think I'm just going to go back to my room and get some sleep. I have a headache."

He nodded, then leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. It wasn't exactly an unusual thing. It was how he usually greeted her and bade farewell. It was normally comfortable, familiar, but not today. It was suddenly awkward and strange, because it wasn't the right person. Adam was just a guy, paled in comparison to Jareth.

And there he was again.

She nodded once in return, quick and jerky, then turned and left, hurrying back to her dorm room. She spent the rest of the day reading, glad that it was a weekend, so she wouldn't have to feel guilty about skipping any classes.

But she didn't just pull out any book once she got there. She went to the drawer, dug down into the back - though, it wasn't that hard considering the size of the drawer - and pulled out a small, red book, with the word _Labyrinth_ on the cover in beautiful gold serifs. She hadn't opened the book in three years, though she'd never been able to bring herself to get rid of it, no matter how many opportunities had presented themselves. It was still in fantastic condition, except a bit of wearing on certain pages, and the cover was obviously faded due to years of being touched, rubbed, and handled. But the corners were still sharp, the spine strong. It was still her beautiful book, full of beautiful words that had so captured and captivated her for years.

And she did what she hadn't done for so long, longer even than since she'd pushed the book aside. She opened the book to the very first page, and as she read, the words flowed forth. She found herself saying them out loud, letting the beauty wrap around her. The familiarity of them kept her attached and she only looked up when she reached the page with the familiar monologue. The light shining into her eyes, causing her to turn away from the window, told her than it was getting late, and that she hadn't had anything to eat since the bagel that morning. Despite the rumbling of her stomach, and almost against her will, she found herself speaking the eternally familiar words, memories of her years memorizing and playacting the scene intermingling with the memories of the broken Escher Room and Jareth.

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered," she called out, rising to her feel without conscious decision, "I have fought my way here to the castle, beyond the Goblin city, to take back the child that you have stolen." She turned sharply, imagining that Jareth was there behind her, and she directed her words towards him, voice rising in both strength and volume. She could practically see him there in the room, so real, the smirk lighting upon his lips like the slightest of caresses. "For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great!" She took three small yet measured steps towards her imagined Jareth. "You have no power over me."

"You long ago proved that, love," he replied, still smirking. She let out a shriek and dropped the book upon hearing his voice. His smirk grew into a full-on grin of amusement. "Happy to see me, then?"

"Y-you're here?"

He bit his lip. "Not entirely. I'm sort of…half here and half there, you could say."

"And the other half of you is in the Underground?" she said.

"Well, yes."

"So, what are you doing here?" she demanded. She winced at how hard her voice was. She had been so looking forward to Jareth visiting her on Friday, no matter what happened. She'd probably romanticized him a bit - or a lot - more than she'd realized. Within two minutes of him showing up, she was already irritated with him. Perhaps it was just the nature of him. Perhaps not.

He leaned down and picked up the book, taking a moment to gingerly brush any dust or dirt off the cover before opening it and flipping through a couple pages towards the beginning. "It was this, the book."

"The book has the power to summon you?" she asked. Ah, this was why she was so irritable all of a sudden. He was so vague, refusing to give any more than partial answers to her questions.

"Well, not alone, no," he went on. He was pacing a bit now, wandering around the room, around her, taking long, graceful strides, almost seeming to dance. He seemed to be focusing on the book more than her. He let out a small chuckle at something then turned the page.

"Look, you can either give me complete answers or you can leave," she declared.

Jareth looked up sharply at that, head cocking to the side curiously. "But I thought you wanted to see me."

"I'd forgotten how irritable you can be," she informed him. "And suddenly I recall."

Jareth chuckled again, but this time is was directed at her. He snapped the book closed and set it on the small desk by his hip. Though, he was so tall, the thing only came up to his thigh. Damn him.

"I hadn't forgotten how stubborn _you_ can be, Sarah," he assured her, taking slow steps towards her, but the room was so small, and his legs were so long, two strides and he was standing just before her, less than a foot between them. "It's always intrigued me, how can one properly function being as proud as you are?"

"I'm not proud!" she exclaimed. She didn't like the way he said it, didn't like the insinuation.

Jareth let out another chuckle. "Oh, but you are. And you have right to be, don't you?" Sarah's eyebrows pulled together in confusion, silently telling him to continue, though she was preparing to tell him such, considering his past record with volunteering information. But just this once, he played along and explained further of his own accord. "You defeated the Labyrinth, _my_ Labyrinth. If any have reason to be proud, it is you."

She ignored his words. "You never told me why you're here."

"Because of you," he insisted. Suddenly, he seized the book again, limbs flying in a blur and then he was holding it open, holding it up for her to read. It was the same page she'd been reading from when he'd appeared. The all too familiar monologue. "You and I, Sarah, we are connected. The Labyrinth binds us together, the magic within you. You read from this book, and it called to me. After years of patience, all of my restraint has gone. How could I resist you?"

"'Years of patience?'" she repeated, getting increasingly annoyed by his crypticism, though happy about the fact that he was volunteering a bit more information.

"Did you suddenly forget the five years I was decidedly absent?" he demanded. His words were harsh, though she could hear the sarcasm in them, and she knew he didn't mean them entirely rudely. Again, more of Jareth's ability to irritate her without even trying.

"No, I remember them," she conceded, unable to hold his gaze.

"You think I didn't want you for every minute of every day since then?" he challenged. Any sarcasm was gone from his voice now, replaced by a raw passion that bordered on anger. "Oh, I hated you for the longest time. Hated you for beating me, for denying me, embarrassing me. Leaving me." His voice caught, but he continued without pause. "Yes, I hated you. But I've also loved you, and hated you all the more for it. I denied myself you because I couldn't stand to see the hatred in your eyes when you gazed upon me. I saw it in the castle when you defeated me, and I would not stand to see it again. I waited for _you_, Sarah. I waited for you to call me, to want me."

"But I didn't call you!" she insisted.

"Not consciously, no," he admitted. "You called for the Labyrinth, within your dreams. But the Labyrinth and I, we are one and the same. You reach for her, you reach for me. You beat her, you beat me. You love her, you love me, too." His voice was softer when he finished. Almost…tender, though that was definitely not a term she would ever apply to the King of the Goblins.

He stared into her eyes, and there was a pain there, a longing, but before she could say or do anything, he turned away and began pacing again. "I denied myself for so long. When I felt you reach out for me, how could I deny it? I came to you in your dream. I saw in your eyes the same longing I feel every moment, Sarah. Please, don't deny me this."

He had come to stop before her once more, and she felt her cheeks burn under the intensity of his gaze. It seared her with its passion, scorched her with its ardor and desire. She wanted to speak, but found herself unable to do anything but stare into the deep forests that were his eyes. In that moment, she knew that she wouldn't deny him a thing. She would do whatever he wanted, follow him everywhere. She was his, entirely.

The spell was broken when her roommate finally made an appearance


End file.
